Infections caused by strep A bacteria have caused the deaths of at least six children in recent weeks, according to the UK government.
Investigations are underway following reports of an increase in lower respiratory tract Group A strep infections in children over the past few weeks, which have caused severe illness.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said, “We are seeing a higher number of cases of Group A strep this year compared to usual.”
iGAS
The government said that while still uncommon, there has been an increase in invasive Group A strep cases this year, particularly in children under 10.It added that so far this season there have been five recorded deaths within seven days of an iGAS diagnosis in children under 10 in England. On Monday, media reports put that number at six recorded deaths.
During the last high season for Group A Strep infection from 2017 to 2018 there were four deaths in children under 10 in the equivalent period.
There were 851 cases reported in week 46, compared to an average of 186 for the preceding years.
“The bacteria we know causes a mild infection which is easily treated with antibiotics and in rare circumstances, it can get into the bloodstream and cause serious illness,” the government spokesman said.
“It is still uncommon but it’s important parents are on the lookout for symptoms.
“But the NHS is well prepared to deal with situations like this, working with the UK Health Security Agency [UKHSA],” he added.
Downing Street said it is not aware of any current shortage of the antibiotic amoxicillin.
The government said that currently there is no evidence that a new strain is circulating.
‘Odd Things Happening’
Some British media outlets have reported that health experts are not ruling out a link between the rise in strep A cases and the end of COVID-19 lockdown measures.Consultant pathologist and HART member Dr. Clare Craig told The Epoch Times by email that, “I don’t think we can conclude that.”
HART is an organisation that was set up to share concerns about policy and guidance recommendations relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Deaths of children from strep A are, rightly, hugely emotive but it is important people don’t jump to conclusions about why it is happening,” Craig said.
She added that since 2014 there have been increasing cases of scarlet fever, as well as a more dangerous version of it, and that, historically, waves occurred every few years.
But Craig said that there are “odd things happening with infectious diseases where things have occurred at unusual times like RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], but the story that the numbers are way higher is not really true.”
“What is concerning is that it is important that children with it get antibiotics,” she said.
Circulating at Great Levels
Asked about the rise in cases, UKHSA Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Susan Hopkins told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme: “Firstly, I think that we’re seeing a lot of viral infections circulate at the moment and these bacterial infections can come as an addition on top.“Secondly, we’re back to normal social mixing and the patterns of diseases that we’re seeing in the last number of months are out of sync with the normal seasons as people mix back to normal and move around and pass infections on,” said Hopkins.
“We also need to recognise that the measures that we’ve taken for the last couple of years to reduce COVID circulating will also reduce other infections circulating and so that means that as things get back to normal, these traditional infections that we’ve seen for many years are circulating at great levels,” she added.
